اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
Allah mocks back at them[1], and lets them wander bewildered[2] in their insolence.
[1] or, 'shall requite them with punishment for mockery' (Ibn Qutaiba) For the Biblical use of mockery and laughter in reference to God, compare the following:- 'Ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity: I will mock when your fear cometh.' (Proverbs 1:25-26) 'But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.' (Psalms 59:8)
[2] That is what the Divine mockery comes to. عمه is to go repeatedly to and fro, in confusion and perplexity, unable to see the right course. (Lane's Lexicon) Cf. the Bible:-- 'They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.' (Job. 4:8-9)
